At The Green House. . .

What gets you into the groove, the writing mood, the working space, , , the I am the walrus and I CAN Imagine vibe?

I have several affirmations posted on my walls to remind me of my purpose. . . to affirm my intention. . .  but there seem to be creative triggers I sometimes need to set my mind into a creative mood.  When writing comic strips, I used to pick up a paperback of one of my favorite comic strip collections, BC, Hagar, Hi & Lois, Shoe, Calvin & Hobbes. . .  my favorite for getting into the writing rhythm was Hagar. My former editor at King Features (from the Muppets days) Bill Yates, always said that Dik Browne and Hagar was the perfect blend of writing complimenting art and art complimenting writing. There’s a magical pace, paired with a delightful looseness that you get reading Hagar. That’s what I tried to do with the Muppets- keep that pace, find that rhythm of words, conversation, connection of the characters and connection to the reader.

Writing these blog posts is a totally different discipline. . . it’s more like writing music and finding a mood to let the words flow.

Writing the Green House is again, something completely different. It’s more of a Calvin & Hobbes scenario, where I have to move into a mood of recalling experience and all the thoughts, conversation and tone of that moment and then find the moments that the characters would share in that space. I’m making it all sound kind of “magical” and it’s really not- it’s just thinking about who the characters are and what they’d think about or say in that moment. . . and imagine their physical presence too. . . what they’d be doing or how they’d be standing. . .the expressions, the gestures. Just like a director, you take it all in, and hit the pause button to jot down the best moments. The tricky part is finding the things that get you to that place, the creative triggers. What are your creative triggers? A walk? A run? The right music? A nap? A cup of coffee? . . .

Ah, the magical cup of coffee. . . It’s more than just the stimulation . . . it’s the process of creating that coffee, being conscious of the process, mindfully preparing and enjoying the coffee, the warmth of the mug in your hand. . . that’s kind of the same as creating a comic or blog. Maybe that’s why coffee seems to be a staple in most creativity. Plus, it wakes us up a little and says. . . “Yeah. . . goo goo g’ joob!”

That would make a great name for a coffee company. . . “Goo Goo G’ Joob Organic Jamaican Roasters.”

“Jam-aican me some fresh coffee, Mon?”

Okay, now I need a cup. . . seriously- tell us about your creative triggers or what you think about mine. . . you can comment below or as always, join us on our Facebook page where the best discussions always take place. Goo goo g’ joob!